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Jobless claims down again
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October 1, 1998: 9:06 a.m. ET
Initial claims drop to five-month low, indicating tighter labor market
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The line of Americans claiming first-time unemployment benefits continued to shorten in the week ended Sept. 26, despite economists' predictions of an increase.
Initial jobless claims fell 5,000 to 289,000, the lowest figure in about five months, from a revised 294,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.
Economists had forecast an increase to 300,000.
The four-week moving average, considered a more reliable indicator of the U.S. labor market, slipped to 299,250, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 303,000.
This is the lowest figure since February 1989, when the four-week moving average dipped to 297,750.
Continuing claims declined for the week ended Sept. 19, dropping to 2,141,000 from a revised 2,192,000. The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate for the week ending Sept. 19 was 1.8 percent, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate.
The bond market took the report in stride. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond jumped 23/32 point to yield 4.91 percent. 
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Department of Labor
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